PRESS RELEASE Netherlands Institute for Southern Africa - Fatal Transactions

27 March 2006

Fatal Transactions publishes DR Congo report - The State versus The People

Fair distribution of DRC natural wealth undermined by poor administration
and corruption in transitional government

Three years of transitional government in the Democratic Republic of Congo
(DRC) has led to anything but stability and economic prosperity. The
corrupt, ruling political class is, more than anything else, engaged in
enriching itself. Based on investigations of the situation in the Congolese
province of Katanga, Fatal Transactions demonstrates how members of the
government, with the help of international donors such as the World Bank,
have profited from the natural wealth of the Congo in recent years, at the
expense of the Congolese people.
With elections on the horizon, the international Fatal Transaction campaign1
wants to shed light on the power structures in the Congolese resource
industry. The investigation illustrates how poor policy, political
incompetence and corruption have led to the collapse of the formal mining
industry. The report gives recommendations for promoting fair and democratic
management of the natural resources of the DRC.

Since colonial times, the history of the DRC has been dominated by
plundering and lawlessness. In the last century, the colonial government,
dictatorial power supported by Cold War forces, national and international
corporations, criminal networks and rebel troops have, one after the other,
plundered the Congo's natural wealth. Three years after the end of the war,
various parties continue the looting of the rich Congolese soil, all the
while preventing meaningful reconstruction of the country from ever
happening.

On behalf of Fatal Transactions, the International Peace Information Service
(IPIS) has studied the relationship between the Congolese political class
and the resource sector. In the run-up to the planned democratic elections,
the report scrutinizes government policy in the mining sector. One result
this investigation reveals is how collaboration between the Congolese
government and the World Bank has led to the total collapse of the national
copper mining company in Katanga. It is a story of recommendations ignored,
corruption, profiteering and political recalcitrance. The province, once one
of the most prosperous regions in Africa, is now on the verge of collapse.
Every day, tens of thousands of men, women and children try, in the dreadful
conditions of the abandoned mines, to scrabble together enough copper and
cobalt to buy food for a day. The poverty reinforces ethnic and political
tensions.

The goal of the international campaign by Fatal Transactions is to allow
natural resources to contribute, in a transparent and just way, to
development and reconstruction. It is the conviction of Fatal Transactions
that the way in which resources are managed in the DRC can make the
difference between new conflict and sustainable peace and development.
Consequently, the campaign calls upon all the leaders of the Congo, the
international community and industry to take action. The way the current
ruling authorities - and potential candidates for the new, democratic
government - deal with the resource sector is of vital importance to the
future of the DR Congo.

For the complete IPIS report, see: www.niza.nl and www.fataltransactions.org

Note for editors
For more information, please contact Kirsten Hund, international coordinator
for Fatal Transactions in South Africa: +27 (0)73 0875743,
[email protected],
Didier Verbruggen, contact IPIS, in Belgium: +32 (0) 3 225 00 22, or Rina
van der Werf, NiZA public relations officer, in the Netherlands: +31 (0) 20
520 62 10 / +31 (0) 6 - 46 727 839, [email protected]

The Netherlands Institute for Southern Africa (NiZA), founded in 1997, is
devoted to the democratisation of southern Africa, through the support of
partner organisations in the areas of free media, just economic development
and the accessibility of human rights. NiZA uses conferences, debates and
campaigns to call attention to developments in southern Africa. NiZA also
has an extensive information and documentation centre that is largely
accessible through our web site. NiZA hosts the national and international
secretariat of the Fatal Transactions campaign. www.niza.nl